Movie Reviews
Film and television reviewed the way I’d want to read them — with a rating that means something, an honest accounting of what works and what doesn’t, and craft notes for writers who want to understand how the machinery operates.
Each review includes a craft notes section for writers — specific observations about structure, character, world-building, and what the film does that you can actually use. Not theory. Technique you can steal.
Indie (22)
May 17, 2026Barton Fink (1991)
Coens' 1991 Hollywood-hotel drama. John Turturro as a Brooklyn playwright in 1941 LA. Won Palme d'Or, Best Director, Best Actor at Cannes simultaneously.
May 17, 2026Blood Simple (1984)
Coen brothers' 1984 debut. A Texas neo-noir small-cast murder spiral. The film that announced the Coens' mature voice on the first try.
May 17, 2026Blue Velvet (1986)
Lynch's 1986 small-town surrealist thriller. MacLachlan, Rossellini, Hopper as Frank Booth. The severed ear opening. Suburban America's underside on film.
May 17, 2026Eraserhead (1977)
Lynch's 1977 debut. Five years of weekend shooting. Black-and-white industrial nightmare with a deformed baby. The film Lynch never explained.
May 17, 2026First Reformed (2017)
Schrader's 2017 religious drama. Ethan Hawke as a Protestant minister losing his faith over climate despair. Schrader's late masterpiece.
May 17, 2026Following (1998)
Nolan's 1998 debut. Black and white, 70 minutes, shot on weekends with available light. The film that proved he could structure non-linear narrative cleanly.
May 17, 2026Hard Eight (1996)
PTA's 1996 debut. Philip Baker Hall as an aging gambler taking in a stranger. Released as Sydney against PTA's wishes. The film that announced Anderson's voice.
May 17, 2026Hell or High Water (2016)
Mackenzie's 2016 modern western. Chris Pine and Ben Foster as bank-robbing brothers, Jeff Bridges as the Ranger. Taylor Sheridan screenplay. Best of the modern westerns.
May 17, 2026Hereditary (2018)
Ari Aster's 2018 debut. Toni Collette as a mother whose family unravels after her own mother's death. The dinner table scene. Hard to shake.
May 17, 2026Midsommar (2019)
Aster's 2019 Swedish cult drama. Florence Pugh as a grieving woman dragged to a midsummer festival. Daylight horror. Two hours twenty, longer cut available.
May 17, 2026Miller’s Crossing (1990)
Coens' 1990 Prohibition-era gangster film. Gabriel Byrne as Tom Reagan. The film the Coens made between their two most-praised early works and the underrated one.
May 17, 2026Mulholland Drive (2001)
Lynch's 2001 Hollywood nightmare. Started as a TV pilot, became a feature. Naomi Watts in a dual role that announced her. The Club Silencio scene.
May 17, 2026Pi (1998)
Aronofsky's 1998 debut. Black-and-white paranoid math thriller. A number theorist on the edge. The film that announced both Aronofsky and Sean Gullette.
May 17, 2026Pulp Fiction (1994)
Tarantino's 1994 anthology crime film. Three interlocking stories. Palme d'Or. The film that made indie a commercial proposition. Still works.
May 17, 2026Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
PTA's 2002 romantic drama. Adam Sandler as a rage-filled bathroom-supply salesman. The film that proved Sandler could act when directed by someone serious.
May 17, 2026Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Aronofsky's 2000 addiction film. Four people destroyed in parallel tracks. Clint Mansell's score, Selby's novel, Burstyn's career-best performance.
May 17, 2026Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Tarantino's 1992 debut. A heist film with no heist. Seven men in suits in a warehouse. The screenplay that launched American indie of the 1990s.
May 17, 2026The Card Counter (2021)
Schrader's 2021 gambling drama. Oscar Isaac as an Abu Ghraib veteran on the poker circuit. Companion piece to First Reformed.
May 17, 2026The Lighthouse (2019)
Eggers's 2019 black-and-white nightmare. Dafoe and Pattinson trapped on a New England rock. 1.19:1 aspect ratio. Lobster, mermaid, gull.
May 17, 2026The Northman (2022)
Eggers's 2022 Viking revenge epic. Skarsgård, Kidman, Hawke, Bjork. The arthouse director given a $90M budget. Hamlet's actual source material.
May 17, 2026The Witch (2015)
Eggers's 2015 debut. 1630s New England Puritan family unraveling in the woods. Anya Taylor-Joy in the role that announced her. Period-accurate dialogue.
May 17, 2026Whiplash (2014)
Chazelle's 2014 jazz drama. Miles Teller as the student, J.K. Simmons as the abusive conductor. Simmons won Best Supporting. Pairs with Raging Bull.